About offering

Human exploitation of the environment has taken a serious toll on the planet. Environmental Scientists are needed to solve issues such as land degradation; urban and regional development challenges; impacts of mining, oil and gas extraction and processing; biodiversity loss and pollution. The core units develop your expertise in zoology, botany, ecology, genetics, environmental management, sustainability, statistics, and undertaking environmental research. The core biology units in combination with streams targeted to specific disciplines help you develop the knowledge and skills needed to meet these challenges.

Students will study a common first year and then choose to specialise in one of the following four streams.

Wildlife Biology

Conservation and management of wildlife is increasingly important in the protection of global biodiversity. This stream provides the knowledge and skills needed to work with wildlife, with a focus on Australia’s unique fauna. It provides opportunities to work towards research programs with leading wildlife biologists.

Restoration

Restoration is a $2 trillion global enterprise encompassing marine, aquatic-to-terrestrial and desert ecosystems. This unique study stream places you at the forefront of this discipline and sets you on the path to advanced training through the Curtin Centre for Mine Site Restoration, the largest research facility of its kind in the world.

Genetics

This stream will help you develop the practical and theoretical skills required to contribute to the field of genetics and microbiology. You will interact with a number of research teams that use genetic/bioinformatic approaches in the environmental and agricultural disciplines. Genetics and genomics have expanded rapidly in recent years and offer a number of employment opportunities as well as pathways to higher degree programs.

Environmental Chemistry

There is an increasing need to understand and manage the adverse effects of contaminants on the environment and on the biota that live in it. This stream gives you the chemical and toxicological skills necessary to evaluate degraded environments and implement strategies to restore environmental health.

Please refer to the handbook for additional course overview information.

How to apply

This major sits within the Bachelor of Science degree. To apply for this major, you will apply for the Bachelor of Science. In step 3 of the application process, you will be asked to confirm the major you wish to study.

Applying as an undergraduate student is easy. For information tailored to your situation, visit our easy to follow instructions to get your application started.

Ready to apply?

What you'll learn

use a range of technologies to locate, extract and critically appraise existing scientific knowledge; use scientific knowledge to develop coherent and logical arguments

communicate scientific information concisely and accurately using written, visual, and verbal means appropriate to the audience

employ new and established technologies to collect and interpret scientific data; argue the merits and limitations of current and emerging technologies

evaluate their own learning and development as a student, and develop strategies to take control of their own learning and development, and to continue to learn as a graduate

consider environmental issues from a global perspective, recognising the importance of national and international standards for collecting and reporting data

respect and recognise the responsibilities of professional scientists in society, both nationally and internationally; incorporate indigenous and other community perspectives in the development of solutions to environmental problems

work independently and in teams to demonstrate employment-ready skills such as negotiation, leadership, professional behaviour and ethical practices

apply principles of the biological and physical sciences to theoretical and practical sciences to theoretical and practical environmental situations

Why study Environmental Science Major (BSc Science)

Our science departments are highly regarded in the international environmental community and renowned for their excellent research reputation.

Students in their final year conduct a significant research project in conjunction with academics involved in research.

How this course will make you industry ready

As the human population grows, it takes work to keep the natural environment safe. Businesses and governments hire scientists to make sure they effectively manage natural environments, follow strict environmental laws, and restore and remediate degraded environments.

Student profile

View our student profile table to get an indication of the likely peer cohort for new students at Curtin University. This table provides data on students that commenced undergraduate study and passed the census date in the most relevant recent intake period for which data are available. It includes those admitted through all offer rounds and international students studying in Australia.

Career information

Graduates will be equipped with skills aligned to the needs of a number of government agencies:

Department of Environment and Conservation

Office of the Environmental Protection Authority

Department of Transport

Water Corporation.

The course will also prepare students for employment as Environmental Officers in Regional Development Commissions and local governments.

Graduates will be suited to employment within the private sector, including companies involved with resource extraction and post-extraction restoration, environmental consultancies, eco-tourism enterprises, and environmental restoration.

What kind of applicant are you?

Completed your secondary education in Australia within the past two years? Learn how you can apply to Curtin.

Applicants with work and life experience(Finished secondary education more than two years ago)

See how to apply if you’ve completed a pathway program, finished secondary education more than two years ago or spent time in the workforce.

Applicants with vocational education and training (VET) study

Learn how you can gain entry with a TAFE or other vocational education training (VET) qualification.

Applicants with higher education study

Find out how to apply and what credit you may be eligible for if you have previous higher education study.

Applicants with recent secondary education

Applicants with recent secondary education are those whose admission is primarily based on the completion of Year 12 within the last two years, but also includes those who may have completed their senior secondary studies with a TAFE or other VET provider within the same time frame. This includes applicants whose secondary education was undertaken interstate or overseas.

Guaranteed ATAR: 70

This is the ATAR level at which an offer of admission is guaranteed, subject to any other non-ATAR criteria being met.

Essential WACE subjects (prerequisites):

Mathematics: Applications ATAR

STAT entry:&nbspNot accepted.

The Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) assesses competencies considered important for success at uni.
These tests are provided by the Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC) to help mature age candidates apply for certain courses.

Lowest selection rank to which a recent Year 12 student offer was made (including the consideration of any equity or other adjustment factors)

View the lowest selection rank (incorporating ATAR plus any adjustments) of an applicant to which an offer of a place was made in the most relevant recent intake period, this includes any ATAR adjustments.

ATAR and selection rank profile for those offered places wholly or partly on the basis of ATAR in the most recent intake period

Applicants with work and life experience(Finished secondary education more than two years ago)

Applicants with work and life experience are those who left secondary education more than two years ago (i.e. who are not classified as recent secondary education applicants) and have not undertaken vocational education training (VET) or higher education study since then.

‘Experience’ includes a combination of factors sufficient to demonstrate readiness for higher education such as mature-age entry, professional experience whether completion of the Special Tertiary Admission Test (STAT) is required or not, community involvement or work experience. Applicants may have undertaken non-formal programs that have helped prepare them for tertiary education or are relevant to the proposed higher education field of study.

Guaranteed ATAR: 70

This is the ATAR level at which an offer of admission is guaranteed, subject to any other non-ATAR criteria being met.

Essential WACE subjects (prerequisites):

Mathematics: Applications ATAR

STAT entry:&nbspNot accepted.

The Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) assesses competencies considered important for success at uni.
These tests are provided by the Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC) to help mature age candidates apply for certain courses.

Applicants with vocational education and training (VET) study

Applicants with vocational education and training (VET) study are those whose highest level of study since leaving secondary education is a VET course. This includes study at a public TAFE or other VET provider, whether a qualification was completed or not. Applicants with VET study may have other qualifications such as a Year 10 or Year 12 secondary school certificate.

Guaranteed ATAR: 70

This is the ATAR level at which an offer of admission is guaranteed, subject to any other non-ATAR criteria being met.

The Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) assesses competencies considered important for success at uni.
These tests are provided by the Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC) to help mature age candidates apply for certain courses.

Applicants with higher education study

Applicants with higher education are those whose highest level of study since leaving secondary education is a higher education course, such as a university degree. This includes applicants who are currently studying a higher education course at another education provider and want to transfer to Curtin University, or applicants who are currently studying at Curtin but want to switch to a different course. It also includes applicants who have completed past study with university and non-university higher education providers.

Applicants with other international qualifications

The offering information on this website applies only to future students. Current students should refer to faculty handbooks for current or past course information. View courses information disclaimer.

Curtin University would like to pay our respect to the indigenous members of our community by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which the Bentley Campus is located, the Wadjuk people of the Nyungar Nation; and on our Kalgoorlie Campus, the Wongutha people of the North-Eastern Goldfields.Watch our traditional Aboriginal welcome